Kan Cheong Spider

I think I go into one of these stress cycles every now and then. Singapore is too stressful a place to grow up in. Or should I say that it is too stressful for mummies with growing children.

Maybe I am just plain forgetful and have forgotten how I had struggled with Lil Shauna but I definitely worried a lot more for the little boy. Lil Shauna just seemed to progress so naturally academically. She just came back from school and suddenly knew how to write her name, the dates, count and do her homework. I only remembered struggling badly with Lil Shauna over spelling but that was bcos she was progressing beyond her age and started spelling with LCentral when she was barely 5 YO. Maybe that is also why I have taken things for granted with Lil Isaac. They go to the same school and started the same enrichment at about the same age. I had also expected Lil Isaac to also come home and suddenly know this and that. Strangely, it didn't happen. *palm-face*

We have started writing the alphabets and it is either the reward system working well or Lil Isaac has gotten into the routine. It helps too that Lil Shauna has to do some homework (from school or enrichment) every evening. He knows that he has to get down to some homework everyday after mummy has settled down. We started with 1 letter (upper or lower) a day and missed for some days but since stepped up to both upper and lower case in the same day and almost everyday. This step-up came about after 2 weekends of homework. I was suddenly worried when I realized that Lil Isaac cannot write numbers (dates) properly and couldn't even write his Chinese name. Zzzzzz. I have treated him like a baby for too long a time. I didn't realize that he is in K1 already. Sob. We need to complete the alphabets faster so that we can quickly move off to practice writing other stuff. I just checked with Aunty S this morning on what K1 kids should know so that I can help Lil Isaac practice at home and hopefully bring him to par soon. So stressful.

Well, at least the little boy is proud of his work. Jia you!

Mummy Lim 

What Happened to Time?

I kind of remembered that it was the weekend and then I suffered a little Monday blue. Suddenly, it is Thursday. It is scary how time is flying by. Last year passed swiftly but this year seems worse. I thought I had just celebrated Christmas and was lamenting that I didn't get to count down during new year's eve. Then suddenly, January is gone and Chinese New Year is around the corner?! Oh gosh, what happened? Did I take a time machine or something?

We have started to ease into the new routines with the new school hours and enrichment classes (old and new). We have started our own "do homework" routine almost every evening too. Things will get better and time will start to slow down, right?

Oh gosh, I don't want to turn 36 so quickly. I feel so old.

Mummy Lim

Split!

We are still continuing with our stretching exercises. It is not that tough and takes a mere 10 to 15 mins each time. We may not find time to do it every day but try as best to keep it to alternate day. To not make it looks like Lil Shauna is suffering alone, I have been doing the regime with her. We are so familiar with the exercise that we no longer needed the video. We also added in some stretches on our own. Basically, the intention is to stretch all the different muscles in the leg, which leads to an attempt to execute a split (both legs) at the end. 

 When we 1st started about 2 weeks back, we were so stiff then. Throughout the 15 mins, we were ouching continuously and I was left feeling sore. The soreness turned to muscle ache and took about a day to go away. When we tried to execute the split, we were far from anything that looks like a split and I was comforted to know that it takes a lot of practice and we could do the split one day.

I had been serious about my stretching, much more than Lil Shauna. Sometimes, I think she fools around more than real stretching, often breaking out in giggle and falling over. Zzzzz. After 2 weeks, I actually felt my flexibility increased and I told Lil Shauna, hoping to encourage her. The same happened to Lil Shauna too but the result is definitely less apparent given that I put in more effort. Hehe. 

Yday night, I could do something that at least looks like I would soon be achieving a split! As for Lil Shauna, she is still far from it. Lol. However, I think she was more motivated by my results and tried harder last night. Well, if an auntie like me can one day achieve a split, that is no reason why young bones like her cannot. Jia you!

Mummy Lim

5 YO?

Lil Isaac is turning 5 this year. Maybe it is the youngest-child syndrome; he doesn't at all look 5. I remembered Lil Shauna looking and behaving like 5. She was so much more independent and mature and I don't remember worrying about her as much. I am also quite sure that she progressed much faster academically than Lil Isaac now too. Zzzzz.

Bcos Lil Isaac doesn't look like he is turning 5, I constantly forget that he is already in K1. As a result, we didn't do his homework (again) until Sunday morning. Popo nagged the whole weekend about his homework but she wasn't clear about what homework and I wasn't sure what she was nagging about and conveniently blocked her. Last year, when he was in nursery class, there was rarely homework. His writing is still atrocious and he takes painfully long to write. Many times, I ended up helping him with the coloring and purposely do a terrible job so that the teacher wouldn't find out. I wonder how many parents are like me. I hate coloring and cannot help wondering why kids have so much coloring to do. Yes, it is a terrible habit but they do their homework while flopping on the floor, just like when I was young despite having their own writing table. 

While we struggled through homework, Lil Shauna was enjoying herself bcos mummy remembered to help her with her homework and she has completed everything on Friday night. See the difference.

While working on his homework, I realised that we have plenty of catch up to do. I am already starting to do alphabets writing with him and have just completed "g" today but realised that we have so much more to do. After the alphabets will be numbers and then numbers in Chinese.  Then his Chinese name before I start him with simple sight words. I didn't have to do any of those with Lil Shauna. Haiz.

Back to Sunday, we almost had to skip church but luckily made it just in time. I brought the kids to church on my own bcos Popo had so much more cleaning to do. Well, it wasn't that tough. I was happily chatting with Lil Shauna on the train and Lil Isaac got to watch Youtube for a segment of the train ride. It is probably a blessing in disguise bcos I finally managed to leave Lil Isaac alone in Sunday school! I have been training him to be independent if you have read my earlier posts. He has been in the same Sunday school for years but is still ever so clingy. Things have improved since he turned 4 yo but either Popo or I still have to accompany him in the room. He was anxious at first but was ok when I told him after worship that I am leaving the room to join the big people and listen to God’s words. He even Hi-5 me after confirming that I will fetch him after snacks and art & craft.  

When I went back after service, Popo was already in the room with Lil Isaac. She said that he didn't see her when she 1st arrived and for quite a while. He was happily going about and doing whatever with the other kids. Hehehe. Hopefully, this marks the start of independence in Sunday school and not a rare case of good mood. Anyway, next year, he will need to join jie jie at the big kids’ class and mummy or Popo cant tag anymore.

Mummy Lim

Private Lesson 3

What better way to start Saturday than a good bfast?

There were many people in the rink today, which makes practice a little difficult.  The other 3 girls were at the rink as well. Lil Shauna said that she wanted me to be in the rink to help her to practice and so I did. She worked really hard. I think she wanted to impress Teacher Raymond. Haha. We practiced for about 45 mins and had to stop bcos there were too many kids in the rink and one of the crews told us not to practice the spiral move just in case somebody runs into her skate and gets hurt. OK lor. So Lil Shauna went over to the closed off rink to further practice on her own. I couldn't tag. She got bored after a while and I asked her to go play with the girls until it is time for class.

Teacher Raymond didn't check much on her front crossovers but focus on other moves that she learnt. She learnt new moves too and oh boy, were tough. I think I will have to be on the ice again the next time we go down. 

The class went fine. Teacher Raymond commented that she's still very shy. She needed a lot more strength to execute the moves precisely. Also, she needed confidence to look good while dancing on ice. I have to start to remind her. Fortunately, Teacher Raymond also mentioned that she's learning alright.

Ice skating is hard work. Other than plenty of practice on ice, there are plenty of hard work off ice too - the regularly stretching and practicing of postures. It is more than just skating on ice, the constant self reminder to control that foot in that right place, holding the hands up not only for balancing but also for posture. Lil Shauna still has a long way to go. For now, I am more than glad that she's proud of her achievements and pressing on. I hope we will get there one day.

Mummy Lim

Meeting Up with the 3Fs

Just not too long ago, they spent almost every weekdays with my brother's girls. Lil Shauna said that Felicia is her best friend and Lil Isaac is best friend with Feline. Lol. Not just any best friends but best friends forever hor.

Then they shift to Clementi and the meet-up frequency was reduced to about a few times a week. Nevertheless, the kids love playing together. Lil Shauna even had a few stayovers and she loves them!

Then, primary one starts and Lil Shauna is in the dreadful afternoon session. Now, only Lil Isaac gets to go over on Wednesday - if Popo has the energy to bring him. Poor Lil Shauna.

We have dated the girls during the weekends a few times since school started. It isn't easy given that the kids are all so busy with enrichment classes during the weekends. Today, we met up and Lil Shauna was so thrilled when she heard about it. We went swimming and then dinner. Such simple things but such great joy. Yeah, best friends forever!

Just in case you are wondering, we had dinner at this place with strange animals decoration.  Lol.

Mummy Lim

NTUC Club

There was so much rave when NTUC Club was opened at Joon Koon last year. The building the housed NTUC Club was conveniently right next to Joon Koon MRT, which is only 1 station away from us. Prices of the commodities at the NTUC Club are supposed to be lower by up to 20% but the items come in bulk. To shop at NTUC Club, one needs to be a member and the membership cost $50 per year. Popo bugged me to get the membership some months back but I didn't see it necessary.

The same building where the NTUC Club is located also housed many decently priced eateries and fast food joints. Last Wednesday, Popo and I brought Lil Isaac to have our dinner there. Not only was it spacious, there weren’t many patrons. I hope it is crowded during lunch or the eateries might start closing down soon. Zzzz. We also took a quick walk in NTUC Club and I was surprised to see some really cheap Manuka honey, shampoo and stuff. I was tempted.

NTUC Club is also on our route home. On Monday, Daddy Lim and I popped by the building for coffee and enjoyed some peace before we went home to fetch Lil Shauna from the school bus. I gave in to temptations and paid $50 for the membership. I pictured myself grocery shopping in a spacious and fairly empty NTUC Club and get great savings. Hehe.

Well, the reality didn't really match up. We went grocery shopping on Tuesday after picking Lil Shauna up and dinner. The Club was fairly empty, which is great but not all household items are available. Some are brands that you do not find in a normal NTUC and they are not exactly cheap. Maybe their normal price would have cost more. I cant tell. And almost everything comes in bulk. You cannot find a 6-pack coke; they all come in 24-can carton. You get my drift. We did end up with a good amount of frozen pork and a huge pack of chicken nuggets. These are really cheaper than what one could find at the normal NTUC. Popo could portion and freeze the extras. 

In the end, we spent about a $100 on groceries and didn't complete all on our usual shopping list, which means that we would still need to head down to a normal supermarket. So is the membership well spent? Hmmm.. I am not sure. Bcos it is so conveniently located, Daddy Lim and I could still pop by on our way home and buy whatever that we need (and they carry), so that we minimize the trips to the usual supermarkets. Now that my brother has shifted from Centris, we rarely visit Jurong Point and grocery shopping has been hampered. I do feel a little cheated though.

Mummy Lim   

Mummy Bluff Me

Last Friday, Popo mentioned that the little boy has homework from school to complete. I thought she was referring to the phonics class and didn't pay too much attention. We have a full week to complete his phonics homework. The little boy knew too that he had homework but I didn't quite comprehend him. I think he did raise it but I didn't give him enough attention and brushed him off. On the receiving end, he thought that mummy had helped him do his homework and there is nothing left on his part. All these time, his homework was sitting quietly in his file in one corner of our living room. 

 While getting ready to go to school yday morning, he started asking Popo about his homework and Popo told him that his homework were completed, assuming so. Popo said that he was unconvinced and was almost in tears when he boarded the school bus. He must be thinking why the homework would be completed by itself when he hasn't done anything. Lol. Popo called me to check after sending him to school and I got nagged at. ZZzzzzz. Ok, it is my fault but didn't see it as such a big deal. Lil Isaac can always bring the homework back for completion. Hahaha.

So, he did come back with his file and homework. The first thing that he said when he alighted from the bus was “Popo you bluff me”. Lol. Popo called me thereafter and Lil Isaac said the same thing to me. It was actually very adorable over the phone. Haha. In actual words, he said, “Mummy, you bluff me. You said that you already helped me do my homework.”  Hello, little man, it is your homework, why should I do it for you? But on the account that you were so cute, you win. (photos taken in other occasions)

We did get down to his homework in the night. He has to write his name and class on the front page of his English and Maths books. In each book, he had to complete 4 pages of work and write his name and date at the top of every page. Lil Isaac’s writing is atrocious. I pity the teacher who has to read his writing. There were quite some writing to do in his English book. The boy did try very hard. I could see that he used a lot of strength and effort to complete the writing but with so much whining! I almost lost my cool at one point but recognized that he was tired; we had squeezed what were to be completed over 2 days into 1 night.

We were overjoyed when he completed his homework and even proceeded to complete 1 page of his phonics homework. He asked to be rewarded with his special sticker reward book. The kids now have 11 stickers each and could use the sticker to exchange for a toy. Time to spend $$ but for a good cause and for their hard work.

Mummy Lim

Practice Ice Skating

We did go down to the rink on Saturday despite not having lessons. Lil Shauna needs to practice and we need to make the student pass worth. The other girls were there as well. 

To avoid unnecessary distractions, we escaped the house while the little tiger was still in lala land. He had been bugging to go ice skating recently despite me using his gym classes as the bargaining chip. He did agree not to tag along when I reminded him on Friday night but I think we should avoid risking it. 

No doubt Lil Shauna enjoyed the attention and we had our usual bfast. We were way too early and had time for her to do her Maths homework.

Mummy went down to the ice to practice with her. Daddy Lim specifically reminded me to take care and not fall down. Lol. 

Don't worry, I know my capabilities and did no demonstrations this time. I had to take some time to get used to the ice given that I had been slacking while Lil Shauna went down to the ice for the past few practices. Lil Shauna knew exactly what she had to do, I was just there to nag at her to practice and hold her hand to give her the support when need be. When I am not in the rink, she will mostly play chase with her friends but we practice at least ¾ of the 2-hour session this time. Lil Shauna must be really tired bcos she was constantly asking for water, put on and off jacket, the time, her friends, why this and that – whatever that can distract mummy and cut her some slack. Lol. I was quite firm though, bringing her back to focus and time passed so quickly. I did check with her after class and at least she doesn't hate me in the rink with her. Haha. 

As expected, Lil Isaac asked to go ice skating when he joined us in the afternoon. Guessed what? We did bring him to the rink on Sunday evening after his gym class. He was so excited. I had to make him promise to cooperate and behave himself before we enter the rink – go slow, listen, no tricks. This time, it was so much better than the last time we brought him.

We were in JCube at 3ish and opted to go for the later and last session at 5.15pm bcos the 3pm session was way too crowded. The kids understood that we had to come back another day if the rink was too crowded. The last session was good, although 1/3 of the rink was cornered off for a private function, the rink was fairly empty. However, there were quite some very good skaters in hockey skates, who went around very fast and the ice was rough very quickly. Lil Isaac took a little time to get used to the ice. With nobody to compete against, he went in his own pace and didn't fall as much. Either Daddy Lim or I had to constantly tail him and tried to catch him if he falls but at least there was lesser worry that somebody might bump into him or run over his fingers. 

Lil Shauna gets to practice again and I think practice really makes perfect. Her front and back crossovers look so much better. We also saw jiejie Crystal, a regular that we also see in the rink. She is probably in late teens and started ice skating only this year but is already into jumps and spins. She is really friendly and had given the mummies many good advices, from skates to apparels to private lessons. I took the opportunity to ask her to help correct Lil Shauna’s spiral posture and it helped to affirm things that I googled. I also found out from her that there are off ice lessons, where the coaches helped to correct the jumps and postures off ice! Lil Shauna could probably go for those when she is more advance and into spins and jumps. Hehe.

Overall, it was a great trip. We only stayed for an hour but Lil Shauna gets to practice and we can put off Lil Isaac’s bugging for the time being. Hehe.

Mummy Lim 

Stretch!

I have been troubled for the past few days about how to help Lil Shauna in her ice skating. We only have that much ice time in a week and I have been wondering about how I can help her off ice. Other than balance, I figured out that flexibility would be the other key to help her executes the different postures. Unfortunately, flexibility isn’t something that she has. Zzzz…

My lunch time during the last week had been spent Google-ing on Youtubes on beginner children figure skating. I hope that these videos will inspire the little girl. It will also allow her to visualize how some posture should be and how some moves (like the crossover) are actually done. There are some pretty good videos out there. We will only know the impact of these videos when we are back on the ice tomorrow.   

I also Googled on how people practice ice skating off ice and the results generally point towards stretching to increase flexibility. At one point, I pondered if I should send Lil Shauna for more classes like the ballet or gymnastic. Those will surely help but I don't think we should add on more classes to our already very hectic lives. Moreover, Lil Shauna didn't fancy them much. She picked ice skating over those when we gave her a choice last year.

I directed my search towards stretching exercises that figure skaters do off ice and there are quite some. However, most of the stretching regimes are definitely beyond Lil Shauna’s ability at this point. Then I found one 12 mins video on the different stretching exercise that leads to the split at the end of the video. I thought it was fairly good and the person in the video looks professional. One of my greatest fears is injuring the little girl by teaching her the wrong stretching techniques. I tried the regime myself and went ouch and ooooo.. as I followed the video. I did feel my flexibility increases as I do those stretching exercises. Of course I didn't manage a split by the end of the video but I wasn't too bad. I actually surprised myself! And the instructor mentioned that it would take time and practice makes perfect. Woohoo! The stretches were really powerful and my legs were sore by the end of the regime.

Lil Shauna joined me when I repeated the 12 mins regime. This time, she went ouch, ouch, ouch as the stretching proceeded. Lol. The split at the end of the video again didn't happen with Lil Shauna. She didn't seem to do some of the stretching properly too but I guess practice will make perfect. Moving on, we would try to keep to these stretching exercises every day on top of the 2 postures that we are supposed to practice. It doesn't take a lot of time and I hope that we can proceed with more difficult stretches as time goes on. 

Figure skating is definitely not an easy sport and it requires a lot of hard work. I hope Lil Shauna will persevere. I am really excited about the journey that Lil Shauna is embarking on but worried that I am overexcited. Daddy Lim reminded me this morning to go slow and that our kids aren’t talented in any specific fields.  Yes, I needed that reality call. I think my excitement voiced down to the fact that she has finally stuck to something and I had hopes that she would be good at it one day. But I think I need to be prepared that the little girl might one day decide that figure skating isn’t for her.

Oh, by the way, my legs are still sore today. Power!

Mummy Lim